Method and apparatus for the production of cast iron, cast iron produced according to said method

ABSTRACT

A method for the production of cast iron starting from pre-reduced iron ore (DRI) with an electric arc furnace includes the steps of preparing a charge of pre-reduced iron ore DRI having a metallization higher than 90% and containing over 2.8% by weight of carbon, wherein at least 80% of the carbon is combined with the iron to form iron carbide Fe3C; charging the charge of pre-reduced iron ore into the electric arc furnace; and melting the DRI charge to form liquid cast iron having at least 80% by weight of actual carbon content deriving from the carbon in the charge of pre-reduced iron ore, the melting step being in a reducing atmosphere and in a melting chamber of the electric arc furnace subjected to a positive internal pressure generated by the gases produced by reduction reactions that develop during melting.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for theproduction of cast iron according to the preamble of the relativeenclosed independent claims.

The technical field to which the invention relates is therefore that ofthe production of iron and steel, in which ferrous materials such ascast iron are widely used.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of reference, the term “cast iron” indicates a variety offerrous materials generally produced in blast furnaces, containing atleast 92% (by weight) of Iron and 2.1% (by weight) of Carbon and tracesof other elements; over time, cast iron has become a real “commodity” inthe steel industry as a source of metallic iron for the production ofhigh-quality steels.

Cast iron is in fact used in electric arc furnaces (hereinafter referredto as EAFs, for providing certain quantities of iron necessary forcounterbalancing undesired elements contained in steel scraps normallyintroduced into EAFs: cast iron in fact helps dilute residual elementssuch as copper and tin present in trace amounts in scraps; cast ironalso contributes to minimizing nitrogen levels of molten iron in EAFs.

Cast iron is also used in place of other metallic iron materials such ashigh-grade steel scraps or pre-reduced iron ore (also known as DRI,Direct Reduced Iron).

Cast iron is a ferrous material with a high carbon content normally castinto 200 mm×100 mm×50 mm ingots or other forms of ingots.

Cast iron is generally produced in blast furnaces but other processesare also known for producing molten iron with a high carbon content.

There are three main categories of cast iron:

basic cast iron, used for steelmaking,

grey cast iron for the production of castings (also called lamellar),

nodular (or spheroidal) cast iron used for the production of hightensile castings.

These categories of cast iron mainly differ in the silicon andphosphorous content.

A typical analysis of the cast iron categories indicated above isrepresented in Table 1 hereunder:

TABLE 1 Basic Grey Nodular Si <1.5% 1.5-3.5% 0.5-1.5% C 2.1-4.5%3.5-4.5% 3.5-4.5% Mn 0.4-1.0% 0.4-1.0% <0.05% P <0.12% <0.12% <0.04% S<0.05% 0.05% <0.02%

As already mentioned, a method for the production of cast iron is thatin blast furnaces; details on this aspect are not described herein, asthe manufacturing of cast iron in blast furnaces is a process well knownto skilled persons in the field.

As is known, blast furnaces have certain limits however: they requirecoke, they have relatively lengthy production cycles, and above allgenerate high CO₂ emissions, which require careful control and devicesspecifically produced for complying with the constraints ofenvironmental regulations which are becoming increasingly strict.

Furthermore, the production quantities of blast-furnace cast iron areextremely difficult to regulate: stopping the blast furnace in factoften, if not always, involves the complete replacement of itsrefractory material, with everything that ensues; the result is that itis therefore difficult or extremely uneconomic to produce limitedamounts of cast iron.

Various solutions have been developed for partially solving thesedrawbacks.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,686,075, for example, describes a process for producingsynthetic cast iron by means of a reduction process within a temperaturerange of 900°-1,200° C. producing so-called sponge iron. The sponge ironis freed from its gangue by magnetic separation; a carbonaceous materialis added and is melted in an electric furnace under acid conditions at atemperature ranging from 1,100° C. to 1,300° C. Suitable quantities ofsilicon, manganese and other elements are added to the molten bath toobtain the desired composition. A limit of this solution is linked tothe fact that a further operation for the addition of carbonaceousmaterial is required, with a consequent increase in the energy used inthe process.

A further solution is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,165,398 whichdiscloses a process for melting sponge iron wherein the meltingtemperature is gradually lowered by adding powdered carbonaceousmaterial. The charge is slowly and continuously stirred by rotation ofthe melting furnace. Also in this case, therefore, there is the separateaddition of carbon to the sponge iron in the melting phase, withsubstantially the same limits as those previously described; furthermorethe presence of continuous stirring in the furnace creates furtherlimits deriving from the necessity of having to provide expedientsspecifically suitable for the purpose.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,150 discloses a method and apparatus for producingliquid cast iron in an electric furnace into which pre-reduced iron ore(DRI) characterized by a metallization higher than 60% is charged,together with residual carbon coming from a reduction process. Thissolution however has limits due to the fact that most of thecarbonaceous material added to the melting furnace is consumed tocomplete the reduction of the remaining iron oxides.

Other solutions of the prior art, such as those described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,810,905 and European Patent 0871781, disclose melting thepre-reduced iron ore (DRI) in a submerged arc furnace, which is moreexpensive in terms of both investment and operating costs; thissolution, however, has proved to be relatively advantageous as thesefurnaces operate with a thick layer of slag over the melt which to somedegree protects the carbon from oxidation. These solutions however usepre-reduced iron ore having an overall low metallization and/or lowcarbon content or use scrap as the iron source, which entails thedisadvantage of having to introduce elements such as carbon, silicon andmanganese during the melting step with consequent higher costs for theferroalloys and longer duration of the casting cycles of the meltingfurnace.

From the above discussion, the need therefore emerges for a method (andrelative equipment) for the effective production of cast iron for themanufacturing of steel or foundry products starting from iron ore.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is therefore to provide a methodand an apparatus for the production of cast iron which overcomes thedrawbacks of the prior art.

A further objective of the invention is to provide said method andapparatus which are relatively economical and practical.

Another objective of the invention is to provide said method andapparatus which allow the production of cast iron also in reducedquantities.

Yet another objective of the invention is to provide said method andapparatus for producing cast iron starting from DRI containing carbonusing an arc electric furnace.

A further objective of the present invention is to provide said methodand apparatus which reduces environmental impact in terms of carbondioxide emissions with respect to the methods and apparatuses normallyadopted for this purpose.

Further objectives of the invention will appear evident to skilledpersons in the field, or will become more apparent in the detaileddescription of the invention.

These and other objectives are achieved by means of a method andapparatus according to the invention.

The idea behind the invention is to produce cast iron throughpre-reduced iron ore (DRI) with a high carbon content, preferablypresent in the form of iron carbide.

This is advantageous as carbon combined in this form remains in the ironbath in an energetically effective way; it should be considered thatproviding carbon to the melt as free carbon implies a high energy costfor its solution in the iron matrix.

More specifically, the invention provides a method and an apparatus forproducing cast iron using DRI with a high carbon content as iron sourceand carbon in an apparatus comprising an electric arc furnace EAF forproducing cast iron having the desired carbon content, with numeroustechnical and economic advantages.

A first object of the invention therefore relates to a method for theproduction of cast iron starting from pre-reduced iron ore or DRIwherein the iron has a metallization higher than 90% by weight, andcontains high carbon levels; the DRI is melted in an electric arcfurnace or EAF to form liquid cast iron and the regulation of the carboncontent of the cast iron mainly derives from the carbon contained insaid DRI.

A second object of the patent relates to an apparatus which implementssaid method.

A further object of the patent relates to a cast iron produced with saidmethod.

The characteristics of the method, apparatus and/or cast iron aredescribed in detail hereunder and claimed in the following claims whichshould be considered as being an integral part of the presentdescription.

The documents cited in this text (including the previously listedpatents), and all documents cited or indicated in the documents cited inthis text, are incorporated herein for reference.

Documents incorporated for reference in this text or any teachingtherein may be used in the practice of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structural and functional characteristics of the invention, and itsadvantages with respect to the known art, will be apparent from thefollowing description, referring to FIG. 1 enclosed, which is aschematic block diagram illustrating a non-limiting embodiment of theinvention showing the main operations of the method.

With the intent of first describing the method in its general features,this is destined for the production of cast iron starting frompre-reduced iron ore (DRI) using an apparatus comprising an electric arcfurnace (EAF).

The term “cast iron” refers herein and in the following claims to anytype of cast iron.

The method of the invention characteristically comprises the followingsteps:

a. preparing a charge of pre-reduced iron ore (DRI) having ametallization higher than 90% and containing over 2.8% by weight ofcarbon, wherein at least 80% of said carbon is combined with the iron toform iron carbide Fe₃C,

b. charging the charge of pre-reduced iron ore (DRI) into the electricarc furnace (EAF),

c. melting the DRI charge to form liquid cast iron

wherein said liquid cast iron has a predetermined target content ofcarbon, at least 80% by weight of said target carbon content of the castiron deriving from the carbon in the charge of pre-reduced iron ore(DRI), wherein step c. is effected in a reducing atmosphere conditionand in a melting chamber of the electric arc furnace (EAF) subjected toa positive internal pressure generated by gases produced by reductionreactions that develop in step c.

An upper limit of the carbon content by weight of the charge ofpre-reduced iron ore (DRI) is preferably 6.5% by weight.

A large percentage, normally higher than 90% by weight of carbon in thecharge of pre-reduced iron ore (DRI) is preferably combined with theiron in the form of iron carbide Fe₃C; this avoids having carbon in theform of graphite which would be mostly lost in the slag.

In particular, the method is carried out in an apparatus whichimplements the method and comprises an electric arc furnace (EAF)equipped with a melting chamber in which the electrodes are active.

The melting chamber of the apparatus in which the DRI charge is melted,is subjected to slightly positive pressure to prevent or in any caselimit the inlet of air from the outside, avoiding the oxidation of thecarbon present in the metal bath.

According to an advantageous optional feature, step a. provides theheating of said DRI charge to a temperature higher than 400° C.,completely favoring energy saving in the melting process.

According to other variants, an additional step is optionally provided

b1—for the addition, to the pre-reduced iron ore charge (DRI), of acarbonaceous material in the electric arc furnace (EAF) in order toregulate the carbon content,

said step b1 being effected between steps b. and c. eithercontemporaneously with step b. or contemporaneously with or downstreamof step c.

According to other variants, an additional step d. is optionallyprovided, for discharging the contents of the EAF furnace—downstream of(after) step c. into a transfer ladle or container.

The additional step is also optionally provided

d1. of adding a carbonaceous material to said transfer ladle.

Said carbonaceous material, of step b1 or d1, is generally selected fromthe group of coal, coke, graphite, or mixtures thereof.

The liquid cast iron is then solidified from the ladle according to oneof the following alternative steps:

e. granulation of the liquid cast iron

f. casting the liquid cast iron into ingots.

The cast iron thus obtained is basic cast iron, and comprises, inaddition to iron, the following weight percentages of elements:

Carbon 2.1-4.5%

Silicon<1.5%

Manganese 0.5-1.0%

Sulfur<0.05%

Phosphorous<0.12%

In other preferred embodiments, the cast iron obtained is grey cast ironor nodular cast iron.

The grey cast iron thus produced even more preferably comprises, inaddition to iron, the following weight percentages of elements:

Carbon 3.5-4.5%

Silicon 1.5-3.5%

Manganese 0.5-1.0%

Sulfur<0.05%

Phosphorous<0.12%

The nodular cast iron thus produced even more preferably comprises, inaddition to iron, the following weight percentages of elements:

Carbon 3.5-4.5%

Manganese<0.5%

Sulfur<0.02%

Phosphorous<0.04%

Referring now to FIG. 1, which illustrates a simplified block scheme ofa preferred embodiment of a method for the production of cast ironaccording to the invention, 10 indicates as a whole a supply ofpre-reduced iron ore (DRI).

The latter contains a carbon percentage higher than 2.8% by weight,preferably ranging from 3% to 6% by weight, and more preferably from 4%to 5%.

The metallization of the charge of pre-reduced iron ore (DRI) is atleast 90% by weight, preferably at least 94% by weight.

The DRI charge is fed to an apparatus 20 according to the inventioncomprising an electric arc furnace, to be melted.

The DRI containing carbon can be charged into the melting chamber of theapparatus 20 at a temperature ranging from room temperature to 500° C.or higher (preferably up to 700° C.), the energy consumption of themelting process will obviously be lower with an increase in the chargingtemperature of the DRI.

The charging is effected using means known per se in the state of theart, for example by gravity, by means of a pneumatic transport system,by a mechanical conveyor provided with means for maintaining an inertatmosphere in contact with the hot DRI, or in thermally insulatedcontainers (not shown as they are known in the art).

The DRI charge is then melted in the EAF at a temperature at leasthigher than 1,350° C., preferably ranging from 1,400° C. to 1,550° C.

Once the process has been completed, the contents of the furnace aredischarged (tapped) (see 26) from the EAF.

It should be noted that the carbon content in the charge material (DRI)is already close to the target content of the cast iron to be produced.

The carbon content can optionally be adjusted by the addition of afurther carbonaceous material.

In a first embodiment, this carbonaceous material is mixed with the DRIdirectly in the melting chamber of the apparatus.

The carbonaceous material 24 that can be used is, for example but notexclusively, carbon, coke, graphite or mixtures thereof.

In a second embodiment, alternatively to or combined with the firstembodiment, the carbonaceous material 30 is subsequently mixed with themolten DRI, for example in a transfer ladle 28.

The carbonaceous material 30 that can be used is, for example but notexclusively, carbon, coke, graphite or mixtures thereof.

These additions are optional and are only necessary when the targetcarbon content of the cast iron to be produced exceeds the carboncontent of the DRI.

The carbon content of the DRI is preferably equal to the target carboncontent of the cast iron to be produced, so that the method expresslyexcludes the addition of carbon both in the melting chamber andsubsequently.

According to the invention, the carbon content in the DRI charge iscombined therein with iron, preferably mostly in the form of carboncarbide Fe₃C. The combined carbon provides a number of advantages in theelectric arc furnace (EAF) with respect to the use of “free” carbonwhich can be added in the form of soot, coal, coke, graphite: soot is infact easily entrained by the hot gases during the melting phase of theDRI, coal brings numerous impurities, among which sulfur which must becontrolled and eliminated in the final composition of cast iron, cokehas a high cost and graphite, as high-purity carbon, is even moreexpensive.

It is therefore evident that the use of the carbon content in DRI ascarbon carbide Fe₃C is economically convenient for the production of acommodity such as cast iron.

The tapping step 26 of the liquid cast iron thus obtained is set at atemperature which is such as to have a certain degree of overheating,preferably ranging from 1,400° C. to 1,550° C., also in relation to themelting point of the slag that is expected to be produced.

In this way, there can be sufficient time in the transfer ladle 28 foradjusting the desired final composition to meet the pre-determinedchemical analysis of the cast iron in view of its final use.

Ferroalloys or scorifiers 30 can also be optionally introduced into thetransfer ladle 28 containing liquid cast iron.

Said ferroalloys or scorifiers are known per se in the state of the artand consequently no further reference will be made herein to the same.

The liquid cast iron 32 is then discharged from the transfer ladle 28and cast into forming containers 34 in the form of ingots 36, or it canbe granulated through processes known in the art, thus forming the finalcast iron.

The objectives of the present invention have therefore been achieved.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for production of cast ironstarting from pre-reduced iron ore (DRI) with an electric arc furnace(EAF), comprising the following steps: a. preparing a charge of thepre-reduced iron ore (DRI) having a metallization higher than 90% andcontaining up to 6.5% by weight of carbon, wherein at least 80% of saidcarbon is combined with iron to form iron carbide (Fe₃C); b. chargingthe charge of the pre-reduced iron ore (DRI) into the electric arcfurnace (EAF) without adding free carbon; and c. melting the DRI chargeto form liquid cast iron, wherein said liquid cast iron has apredetermined actual content of carbon, at least 80% by weight of saidactual carbon content of the liquid cast iron deriving from the carbonin the charge of the pre-reduced iron ore (DRI), and wherein step c. iscarried out in a reducing atmosphere and in a melting chamber of theelectric arc furnace (EAF) subjected to a positive internal pressuregenerated by gases produced by reduction reactions that develop in stepc.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least 90% of saidcarbon in the charge of the pre-reduced iron ore (DRI) is combined withiron as the iron carbide (Fe₃C).
 3. The method according to claim 1,wherein in step a said DRI charge is charged into the electric arcfurnace at a temperature higher than 400° C.
 4. The method according toclaim 1, further comprising: d. discharging contents of the EAF furnacedownstream of step c into a transfer ladle or container.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: e. granulating the liquid castiron, or f. casting the liquid cast iron into ingots.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the cast iron is grey cast iron or nodularcast iron.